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"Yes, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth speaking?"
"Mr. Edgeworth, why didn't you tell me you have a boyfriend!?"
"K-Kay?"
Kay Faraday, thanks to recommendations from both Miles and Franziska, has been working in Interpol for several years now. But it seems like the position has done very little to curb her mischievous streak. Miles has gotten used to her using her Interpol position to just directly call the Chief Prosecutor office, even though she still had his private number. He...well, he thought he's gotten used to start what he expected to be a professional conversation, only to hear Kay's voice on the other side, saying something goofy or overly-personal or pretending to be a Global Studio producer asking him to write the script for a Steel Samurai movie. But he had to admit, he didn't really expect that.
"That's no way to treat your number one assistant!" Kay said in a childish tone. "That's the sort of news you're supposed to share with your friends." Kay's tone became more empathetic. Maybe Mr. Edgeworth genuinely didn't know that.
"I...am aware of that, Kay. I'm sorry. It's just that..." Miles started gathering himself "first things first, how did you hear about it?" His relationship with Phoenix Wright was hardly a secret to their friends and co-workers, but he hoped it didn't become international news somehow.
"Ema told me, you know we video-chat, right?" Kay said, "she told me she came to your office to give you some report and you and your boyfriend were totally making out!"
"I-I think there might have been a few communication errors between you and Ema!" Miles knew he must be blushing bright red right now. He did remember giving Wright a peck on the cheek while reviewing some files by Miss Skye, but it seems a few details were lost on the way in that game of Telephone.
"Wait, so you DON'T have a boyfriend?" Kay asked, disappointed. She was kinda curious to know what sort of person Mr. Edgeworth would be interested in romantically. Also, the idea of him going on dates was pretty hilarious.
"...no, that part was correct. I'm currently in a relationship." Miles said in a very professional tone "it's simply that we're not going to engage in an inappropriate public display of affection in the Prosecutor's Office." (That wasn't a lie. It's not a "public" display of affection if he locks his office door beforehand)
Kay chuckled, yeah that's about what she expected from Mr. Edgeworth being in a relationship.
"And I apologize for not telling you, Kay." He added "it's simply that I... thought it would be better to discuss this matter next time we meet face to face."
"Alright, fine, Mr. Edgeworth, I forgive you." Kay said in a playful tone. The idea that talking it over on the phone or via e-mail was somehow improper, would sound like a crappy excuse, but coming from Mr. Edgeworth, it was probably the truth. He was a weird guy. "but, since we're on the phone right now, discussing this matter" Kay tried to imitate Mr. Edgeworth's tone "maybe you could tell me more about him? Is it someone I know?"
"Hmmm..." even over the phone, Miles knew Kay's eyes must be gleaming with curiosity. And with how busy he was with his work and her own job taking her all over the globe, who knows when they'll meet in person again. "Well, I don't think you ever met, but surely, I mentioned his name before, it's Phoenix Wright."
"...no, this doesn't ring any bells" Kay said.
"Really? That's odd." Miles said, he was pretty sure he mentioned Wright to Kay before.
"So... that 'Phoenix' of yours, what sort of guy is he? Is he... pompous? Or a stick-in-the-mud? Or...or awkward?" For whatever reason, the only thing she imagined as Mr. Edgeworth's boyfriend is another Mr. Edgeworth "do you wear cute matching cravats?"
"What on earth are you getting at?" Asked Miles, who honestly didn't understand, although the thought of forcing Phoenix to wear a cravat painted a tiny smirk on his face. "No, none of those sound remotely like Wright. He is..."
Wonderful. Ridiculous. Foolish. Brilliant. Kind. Warm. There were so many adjectives he associated with Phoenix Wright, and yet all of them refused to come out.
Miles took a deep breath. "I think you'll like him, you both do such a wonderful job of driving me mad."
"Hmm..." Kay grumbled to herself, now this WAS getting interesting. "Okay, Mr. Edgeworth, you convinced me!" Kay said very suddenly "when I'm in town next week, I'm gonna have to meet your new boyfriend!"
"K-Kay! You'll be in Los Angles next week?" Miles said, "Why didn't you inform me of this."
"I just did, Mr. Edgeworth!" Kay chuckled "I called you to find out about your boyfriend AND to tell you I'll be coming to visit next week."
"Well, Kay, you should have started with the more important topic first."
"I did!"
"Hmph." Miles Edgeworth was quite adapted in scolding people, but how do you scold someone who feels so little shame? "Well, I will check my schedule for next week and contact Wright" he said. "And we'll coordinate the time of our meeting over e-mail, alright?"
"Okay!"
"Well, if that is all. I have to return to my work" Miles said "it was a pleasure to hear from you-"
"Wait! Wait wait wait! Mr. Edgeworth! I still have something to ask you!" Kay interrupted "about your boyfriend!"
Miles was quiet for a second before answering "What is it?"
"Did-did you tell Ms. von Karma about him?"
"Hmm. Of course I did" Miles said
"Ha! I bet you still have whip-marks left over, don't you!"
"Nnnnngh! This is-" Miles flinched as he remembered that flurry of pain. Maybe that was one time it was better to discuss personal matters via the phone or email. "This is none of your concern, Kay." Miles said, trying his best to sound calm.
"Okay, and... does Lang knows?" Kay asked.
"Agent Lang?" Of course, now that Kay worked at Interpol, she must be quite close to him. "Agent Lang and I only worked together on few cases. I don't think I need to inform him about any aspect of my personal life."
"Well... can I tell him?"
Miles though about it for a moment. "If you wish to. I simply don't know why Agent Lang would find it interesting."
"Well..." Now was probably the worst time to tell Mr. Edgeworth that Lang used to have a crush on him. "Hey! You'd never know!"
"I suppose"
"And..." Kay asked, "does Gummy knows?"
"Of course he does, Kay."
"And if she starts talking about being a 'Great Thief', please pay no mind of it, Wright. I can assure you she has never stolen anything?"
"Thief? I thought you said she works with Interpol?"
"She does, it's just that..." Miles sighed, it was a habit of Kay she never grew out of. And as he and Wright were sitting in his office waiting for her, he kept on eyeing the window, hoping she's not going to try and enter through it. There were many habits Kay never grew out of.
There was a knock on the door. "Please come in." Miles said.
"Introducing, the great Interpol agent for truth and love: Kay Faraday!" Kay shouted as she kicked the door open "did you see that, Mr. Edgeworth? I knocked on your door like you asked me to do!"
"I also asked you not to shout in the middle of the Prosecutor's Office." Miles said stoically, pretending to look over some documents.
"Yeah, I know!" Kay said with a huge grin "and look who else is here!"
Kay ran back to the hallway and came back dragging Detective Gumshoe by the arm.
"Hiya, pal, hiya Mr. Edgeworth." Gumshoe said to the two lawyers in the room.
"Gummy here drove me from the airport!" Kay explained. "Thought he should be here for the comeback of the great Kay Faraday!"
"Hey, Detective Gumshoe, long time no see." Phoenix said, slightly awkward.
Kay turned her attention to the blue-suited guy with the weird hair, he waved at her and reached an arm out for a handshake, smiling a slightly nervous smile.
Yeah, definitely not just a second Mr. Edgeworth.
"I'm Kay Faraday, Interpol" Kay said, happily accepting the brief handshake.
"Phoenix Wright." Mr. Edgeworth's boyfriend said, "Attorney at Law." He gestured with pride at the small golden badge on his jacket lapel.
"Oh. Oh." Kay said with an expression of sudden realization. "I should've known you're gonna end up with someone you met at work, Mr. Edgeworth!" She grinned.
Edgeworth and Phoenix exchanged looks, now was probably not the time to explain their long history together and it was close enough to the truth.
"Wright is the head of the Law Division of the Wright Anything Agency. They're quite a well-known law agency in this district." Miles said in a calm, professional tone. "Wright himself worked on many famous cases. Including..." Edgeworth's calm demeanor faltered for a moment "including clearing my own name of murder." He put a gentle hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "He is also the attorney that took down the infamous Manfred von Karma by-"
"Mr. Edgeworth!" Kay said with a chuckle "I came here to see the guy you smooch, not find new Interpol hires or something!"
"Hmph... yes...well..." Miles averted his eyes, blushing. Was it really that weird to appreciate your significant other's professional accomplishments?
"Hey, it's alright, Edgeworth." Phoenix said, smiling. "I know you were trying to be romantic."
Edgeworth's blush reddened.
"Heh, that's just like Mr. Edgeworth, isn't it?" Kay put her hands on her hips and turned to Mr. Wright "at least he's trying?"
"To be honest, it is nice to hear him say those things out loud." Phoenix said "it's not that I... it's not that I don't know how much appreciate my skills as an attorney. But it's nice to actually hear him say it, you know? Directly?"
"Oh yeah. Classic Mr. Edgeworth!" Kay said "He can never, just like... tell people he likes them! He always have to dance around it or deny it for some reason." She glanced at Gummy briefly.
"Believe me, I know." Phoenix said, he knew that better than anyone, probably.
"Yeah, for someone who loves the truth so much" Kay frowned and crossed her arms "Mr. Edgeworth sure has a problem being honest with his feelings!"
"You do remember I'm standing right here, right?" Miles asked with a scowl. "And I can hear everything you say about me?"
"WE KNOW!" Phoenix and Kay said in unison.
Miles rolled his eyes, while Wright and Kay kept talking about him. It was probably inevitable, he was the one thing linking those two together, of course their conversation would turn to him.
"You know, Mr. Edgeworth" said Detective Gumshoe "I'm happy to see that those two make friends."
"Hmmm..." Miles considered Kay and Wright. "Yes, this is a pleasant, though predictable, development." He said honestly, his frown softening into a tiny smile.
"-and as much as Mr. Edgeworth tries to hide it..." Kay said as Miles' attention moved back to her conversation with Wright "he's a great guy and he cares a lot."
"Heh…That's undeniably true." That was another thing Phoenix probably knew better than anyone. "And..." he turned to look at Edgeworth "he has such a nice smile."
There was a part of Miles who wanted to frown at that comment, but instead his smile ever-so-slightly widened.
"Well..." Kay looked at Mr. Edgeworth's face with an inquisitive expression. "Well, your opinion on that is the only one that really matters, Mr. Wright!"
"Heh" chuckled Detective Gumshoe "Mr. Edgeworth and Mr. Wright are really good pals!"
The room went completely silent for a second.
"Mr. Edgeworth! You said you told Gummy!" Kay broke the silence "that's no way to treat your number two assistant!"
"But surely he must know." Miles said, mostly to himself, as his brain raced to re-contextualize a few months' worth of interactions with Detective Gumshoe. No, he never officially announced his relationship with Wright to the good detective. But it's impossible for him not to have noticed him and Wright by now, isn't it? They've gotten less and less subtle lately. He knows that he told the detective he is closing up the office for the night because he has a date with Wright more then once, he used words such as "Boyfriend" or "Love" in his presence, Wright literally just used the word "Romantic" a few minutes ago.
"Why is everyone looking at me like I said something dumb again?" Detective Gumshoe asked with sad eyes.
"Detective," Miles asked quietly, coldly "how would you describe the relationship between Wright and me?"
"Oh, you're really great friends" Gumshoe said with a wide, happy smile "you know, Mr. Edgeworth, sometimes I'm a bit jealous of you two."
Oh dear, he really is that oblivious.
Edgeworth wanted to say something, but Phoenix cut him off before he could finish a word "So, when I come to Edgeworth's office and lock you outside so we could have 'some private time together'" Phoenix said "you assume that we're just..."
"That you're having private pal talk, between pals." Gumshoe said proudly "I know it's important, especially for someone for Mr. Edgeworth."
"Detective Gumshoe!" Phoenix's voice was full of frustration.
"Mr. Edgeworth, Mr. Wright! Stop picking on Gummy like this!" Kay said, pushing them away from Gumshoe "it's not his fault that sometimes things go over his head! You should have just told him!"
"Told me what, Kay?" Gumshoe was really confused.
"Yes, you're quite right" Miles said "We should just be direct about it."
Edgeworth and Phoenix looked at each other awkwardly for a brief moment. It was weird doing that sort of thing again, so far into the relationship.
"Detective Gumshoe, Wright and I are in a relationship." Miles said, "a romantic relationship. We have been together for some time now, and we just assumed you already knew."
"Wait, Mr. Edgeworth, sir, you mean like..." Gumshoe looked utterly confused "ROMANTIC Romantic? And it's serious? You two weren't just playing jokes?"
"This is Edgeworth we're talking about, Detective." Phoenix said playfully "everything is serious with him."
"Then..." Gumshoe's face went blank for a second as he proceeded the new information. Then suddenly he smiled a huge smile and grabbed the two other men in the room in a big bear hug "Mr. Edgeworth! Pal! I'm so happy for you guys." He started tearing up from joy.
"This is the best Yatagarasu Reunion ever!" Kay said, taking pictures of the big, happy, Gumshoe hug.
"Hmmm. Yes, very well" Miles read Detective Gumshoe's report carefully. "Excellent work, Detective. Keep going like that, and your next salary review will be one to look forward to."
"Thank you, Mr. Edgeworth, sir!" Detective Gumshoe said proudly.
Miles checked his watch (because of course he still owns a friggin' watch) "I apologize, Detective, but I have to leave now." Edgeworth started organizing his already well-organized desk. "I must cut this meeting short."
"Don't worry, Mr. Edgeworth! I'll close your office up for you!" Gumshoe volunteered.
"Thank you, Detective." Miles said with a small smug grin, since he was expecting it "Wright is waiting for me to pick him up for date, I need to be quick." He added, mostly to himself.
"WAIT! Mr. Edgeworth! Wait!" Gumshoe's shout stopped Mr. Edgeworth as he was already in the doorway.
"What is it, Detective?"
"Don't forget to tell him you love him!"
Miles gave Detective Gumshoe an icy glare.
"Detective, Wright and I are in a very serious relationship, he is a smart man" Miles said "I think he knows that perfectly well by now."
In response, the Detective just gave him a big, pathetic puppy-dog-eyes stare.
"Alright, Fine." Miles said with a sneer, rolling his eyes as he shut the office door behind him.
When he arrived at Wright's apartment complex, he was already waiting for him on the sidewalk.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting long." Miles said as Wright entered his car.
"It's not a big deal." Phoenix said with a smile.
For a second, Miles just looked at Wright. Phoenix Wright, his boyfriend, his partner, the love of his life. The detective was being ridiculous, not only is Wright fully aware of his feelings toward him, but was he supposed to tell his boyfriend he loves him for the sake of Detective Gumshoe? How would Wright feel if he knew that he only said it to shut up his annoying subordinate? And for the first time in... weeks? Has it really been that long?
"...I love you."
"I love you too, Edgeworth."
He's always going to say those words for Wright's sake and Wright's sake alone. But the good detective served as a decent reminder.
Phoenix's face lit up when he saw Detective Gumshoe at the crime scene, chatting with a lower-ranking officer. As a Defense Attorney, Gumshoe's incompetence and inability to keep a secret is nothing if not an advantage - and he needs as much information on this case, as possible. Plus, he's an old friend, and that should make things even easier.
"Hey, Detective Gumshoe!" Phoenix ran toward the Detective, clutching a mess of documents.
"Hey, pal!" Said Gumshoe "I'm guessing you're workin' on this case too, huh?"
"Guilty as charged-eh... joke not intended..." Phoenix started digging through the case files, searching for the thing he wanted to ask about, "So, Detective, I need some information about-"
"Hold on, pal." Gumshoe said, "Before you start asking me questions, I have a question for you!"
"For me?" Phoenix asked, slightly worried. Hopefully nobody at the Agency got framed for murder again.
"Yeah" Gumshoe chuckled "what are you getting Mr. Edgeworth for Valentine's Day?"
Phoenix just looked at him, speechless.
"It's already February, pal! You better have something planned!" Gumshoe said, completely sincerely.
"Eh, Edgeworth's not that into Valentine's Day..." part of Phoenix couldn't believe he's playing along with this, but another part of him knew he has done weirder things to try and win a case "but I'm probably gonna buy him some chocolates? The weird-tasting fancy stuff he likes?"
"Oh! Great idea!" Gumshoe said, "Mr. Edgeworth loves his gross fancy chocolates!"
"Yeah, and they're really expensive." Phoenix said, annoyed "And I'm kinda short on cash right now, so I really could use your help on this case."
"Oh, alright." Gumshoe said with a big smile "you convinced me, pal!"
"Finally..." Phoenix sighed in relief.
"OH! Hold on, pal!" Gumshoe started frantically looking in his clattered coat pockets for something "I need to give you this first, it's very important!" He pulled out an old wrinkled note and handed it happily to Phoenix.
"Please tell me this is important to the case." Phoenix said before looking at it.
"This is a list of Mr. Edgeworth's favorite chocolate brands, pal!" Gumshoe said happily "I wrote 'em down so I won't forget them when I need to do shopping for him."
Maybe it would've been better if he just kept thinking him and Edgeworth were just guys being pals, Phoenix thought as he half-handily shoved the note into his Court Records folder.